Falling Slowly
by animallover0109
Summary: Sequel to Free Falling... this is how Alice and Edward race in an attempt to save Bella from herself. Can they really save her? Or will they fall trying?


AN: So as the summary said, this is the sequel to one of my oneshots, Free Falling. Um… yea I don't have much to say. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

**Falling Slowly**

_Edward's POV_

I was lying in my room staring blankly at the ceiling when I heard Alice's piercing cry. It scared me out of the foggy cloud that I had lived in for days on end.

The haze that had blinded me since the day that I had left my Bella in the woods was suddenly gone; replaced by fear for my favorite sister. I bolted out of my room and down the staircase to where her tortured cry had come from.

As I got there, I only caught a glimpse of her spiky black hair as she bolted out the door and disappeared into the forest. Her thoughts made no sense to me.

'_Don't jump, don't jump. Please don't jump, it'll kill him.' _I looked questioningly at Jasper who was staring, dazed, at the doorway Alice had rushed through.

"Jasper, what was that about?" I asked him.

"Nothing," he replied. I could instantly tell that he was lying. _'the 8 principles of the US constitution are separation of powers, bicameralism, federalism, judicial review, majority rule with minority right…'_

"Why are you lying to me Jasper?"

"I'm not," he replied, his face too innocent. _'Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.'_

"JASPER!" I yelled, frustrated. What was he hiding from me? He still said nothing. Instead, in his thoughts he decided to recite the Declaration of Independence.

"Fine," I snapped. "I'm following Alice." Turning, I ran from the room.

"No don't!" He yelled after me, too late. By the time he was pleading with me to come back, I was already out the door following Alice's trail.

She was already out of my 'hearing range'. After about 2 minutes of reminiscing, I had my mind all to myself, freed from the thoughts of my family. I no longer had to listen to Jasper's useless pleading.

What could possibly have made Alice bolt from the house that fast? And what did 'don't jump, it'll kill him' mean? Kill who?

I shook my head. Perhaps my dear sister had finally lost her mind. Then again, Jasper had let her go alone. That meant that he knew her reasoning. Why was this so confusing?

The Idaho landscape was quickly flashing past me. Which direction were we headed? I looked around the sky, trying to find the moon. Instead the sky was black as pitch; it was the new moon. The inky blackness gave me no hint as to which direction I was headed. The only thing I knew was the time: it was about 9:30.

I sighed. Why hadn't I thought to check before I left? Right… I didn't want Alice to get too far ahead, though it seemed as though I had failed at that also. An odd sense of doom washed over me. Something was going to happen as 10:27 pm. Or at least that was what my mind was telling me.

I shook my head to dislodge the thoughts. Alice's quick departure must be getting to my own head. 20 minutes later, Alice's path took me to run parallel to an empty interstate, and her thoughts were just barely audible.

'_I only have 32 minutes. Not fast enough.'_ With that, her thoughts disappeared once more. She had sped up, but why? I quickened my own pace, not running quite full out. Then I saw a sign just where Alice's path turned to cross the road. The sign sent a shiver down my spine.

Welcome to Washington! I was confused. Her path was edging northwest now. Why were we headed towards northwestern Washington? It took a moment for me to finally discover the chilling truth.

Alice, and consequently myself, were headed towards Forks. At 10:27 tonight, something was going to happen to Bella.

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_Alice POV __(You know you wanted it!)_

I sat on the couch next to Jasper, trying desperately to think of ways to get Edward out of his room, when I was pulled violently into a vision.

~~~~~~~~Vision~~~~~~

_**There was a balcony, a pale petite girl standing on it.I floated up to catch a glimpse of this frail looking girl's face.**_

_**The girl was facing away from me, looking away from the house behind her. The girl's thin frame was clothed in a silky light blue dress. **_

_**As my imaginary self drifted closer to her, she turned to set her glass of water on the small table that was next to me. I gasped, and it echoed, signaling that I had also made that sound back in the real world.**_

"_**Bella," I whispered softly, that single word also echoing. She couldn't hear me of course since I was just a ghost here. Bella set the glass on the table before returning to the damp railing that ran around the balcony's edge. I watched as she climbed to sit on top of it, not the best idea for a klutz like Bella. Wait… what was she doing?**_

_**She looked back towards the house, her face thoughtful and calculating. I drifted closer to her. As I got closer, her eyes turned stony and stubborn.**_

_**She pulled the train of her dress over the balcony's railing and her foot shifted, dangling over thin air. Then her shoe fell off, plunging towards the ground below.**_

_**I watched with wide eyes as Bella balanced on one foot, her hands grasping the railing in order to stay upright. I screamed for her to come back. She couldn't fall!**_

_**As I reached out and touched her, she nearly slipped. Could she feel that? Her foot had shifted closer to the empty space in front of her, and one hand had released the railing. I looked back towards the house, pleading that somebody would come out to Bella. Figure out what she was doing. All I saw was a clock that said 10:25.**_

_**As she purposefully moved her foot closer to the black abyss, I suddenly understood. "NO!" I screamed. "BELLA DON'T!"**_

_**Her body relaxed as she made a decision, but what? The she whispered words that would haunt me for the rest of my existence. "I'm sorry." Then she released the railing and toppled forward.**_

_**~~~~~End of Vision~~~~**_

"NO!" I cried as Bella's future abruptly vanished. I glanced once at the clock beside the couch where Jasper and I still sat. 9:27. I had one hour…

I bolted from the door as I heard Edward's footsteps. _'Don't jump, please don't jump,' _I pleaded with Bella in my mind. _'It'll kill him.'_ I ran towards Forks, and I didn't look back.

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_Edward POV_

I ran faster than I ever thought possible. My Bella was in danger. Alice and I had to get there in time, we just had to. I couldn't live in a world where my Bella didn't exist. I caught up with Alice's frantic thoughts within 5 minutes.

'_27 minutes until I get there, but only 26 until she falls.'_ Alice thought. I tried to push my legs faster, but found that I couldn't. I was already pushing myself faster than I had ever gone. I roared in frustration.

Alice must have heard me because her thoughts changed abruptly. _'Damn it Jasper, you were supposed to keep him there. Edward I'm sorry, I'm trying. You weren't supposed to know.' _She was sobbing as she ran, the sound echoing through her thoughts.

I wanted to respond, but my words wouldn't have carried that far. She continued to try to push her legs faster, but for the first time they failed to obey her wishes. The next 20 minutes passed slowly as our failing legs tormented us. Why couldn't we go faster the one time that we needed to?

I caught a glimpse of Alice in the distance. I would catch up to her in about 5 minutes. By the time we arrived at the house, we would be too late. Alice and I continued to try to push ourselves fast, but each time we failed.

As I finally caught up to her, I noticed that her eyes were black from worry, doing nothing to hide the feeling of failure that was weaving through her mind. I reached out and touched her arm, letting her know that I in no way blamed her. She was trying to save Bella to save me, to save our whole family.

She was able to go a little faster, keeping pace with me now. From her thoughts I knew that she was trying desperately not to sob. On the outside it worked, but it couldn't stop the torment in her thoughts.

Suddenly, the vision she had been repeating in her head flickered. The vision would be delayed exactly 38 seconds. Bella had hesitated longer than she had in the vision. We would still be 22 seconds too late. Bella would jump in exactly 6 minutes.

For the next 5 minutes, w ran in silence, praying that Bella would hesitate just a little bit longer. The sad thing was that was the only thing that we COULD do. Who would ever have thought that the difference between life and death would be 22 seconds?

Alice's vision shifted again. Bella had hesitated another 10 seconds longer. We would still be 12 seconds too late, I thought sadly. Why was everything so damn difficult?!?! Perhaps her hands would linger on the railing just two seconds longer, or maybe Alice and I would suddenly find some more speed.

I could hear Bella's uneven heartbeat from this distance. The odd thing was that her breathing was perfectly even, calm. She wasn't afraid of death, not anymore. I couldn't run any faster. _'Hold on Bella, hold on.' _I thought desperately.

Alice's vision shifted once more. Bella had stalled an extra 4 seconds. Now in the vision, I could see both Alice and myself standing at the edge of the trees, just a few seconds too slow. With horror, I realized that I could see glimpses of the house and balcony through the trees.

"Bella no!" I yelled as she released her grip on the balcony. But she was in her own little place, she didn't hear me.

Alice and I could only watch as she fell slowly through the air, but not slowly enough. My hands reached for her, too far away. As she hit the ground, I could hear the sickening sound of her bones snapping. As I reached her side, her heartbeat stopped completely.

"No," I yelled in a tortured voice as Bella's blood stained the grass. There was nothing in this world that could bring my Bella back. Some of the clueless humans in the house had heard my tortured cry, indiscernible due to the loud music. They started to move towards the window that cast light on the horrid scene.

Alice yanked me from Bella's body just before the first human appeared in the window. All that they saw was Bella's crumpled body lying in the bloodstained grass.

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So there's the sequel that many of you requested. What do you think? Please review… please?


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